Everything but there were MANY characters and some sounded like others.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The violence was very hard to stomach.

Any additional comments?

I’ve been a fan of James Lee Burke for over 20 years. I’ve read every one of his books once and a lot of them 2-3 times. I can’t pick a favorite because there are too many really good ones. Feast Day of Fools is the first one I almost didn’t finish. I know, I know…all the critics named it his very best work and raved on about his writing brilliance. But this book is UN-RE-LENT-LESS graphic violence, from being buried alive to crucifixion and then burning, to hands and feet chopped off, and on and on. When the crucifixion happened, I shut my iPod off and walked away, sick to my stomach. I had no intention of finishing it but of course I did because it was Burke. Hackberry is no longer a sympathetic character and Pam is just annoying. I can’t give away the ending but at the end all I felt was that the book was gratuitous violence without achieving anything. Bodies drop like flies. I hope Burke doesn’t do this to the next Dave book. It IS beautifully written but it takes a strong stomach to get through it.

First, let me say the narration is awesome. I really enjoyed the gruff voice and it helped the story line very well. I wish I could say the same for the story and its characters. Even though I finished the book, I really wanted it to end much sooner. Perhaps it was a tad too long and a little too contrived for my taste. It isn’t a bad story and surely not a great page turner. But I can see why this type of novel is popular amongst other listeners. It just wasn’t my type of book.

This is perhaps James Burke's finest work to date. The listener cannot get visually closer to Burke's descriptions. His lyrical gift flows like a river and his dialogue is as real and clever as they come. The story takes a while to unravel, but the pace is terrific and worth the wait. There are so many well developed characters here that skillfully mixes the bad that men do with the good that we are given people whose individual spectrums run the gamut. It is about the paradoxes within alll of us and the range of colors humans manifest.

That sums it up-color-color in character, color in storyline, color in dialogue and narrative. More different bad guys with different agendas than you can imagine all played out against the western skies. They're after the same guy for very different reasons. Artfully complex but skillfully presented to easily follow.

Will Patton turns characters into friends with his wonderful vocal interpretations. James Lee Burke paints pictures with words that let you see, feel, and practically smell a scene. Unfortunately, Burke's characters seem to get more sadistic with each novel. The level of violence and the physical and verbal abuse have risen to levels that detract from the story. Scene after scene deteriorates into obscene language, torture, and/or graphically described suffering. And certain scathing psychological putdowns return repeatedly from novel to novel. I guess there are limited ways to be gross & disgusting. I'm sorry a writer as talented as Mr. Burke has become so sadistic. I don't think I'll listen to another Burke novel any time soon. Too bad, because I like the introspection and complexity of characters, and I love listening to Will Patton. If you like man's inhumanity to man in every third scene, you'll like this book. If beatings, burnings, and cursings make you flinch, stay away.

Yes. I was caught up waiting to see what each character was going to do next, how the plot would unfold and if Hack would ever give in to Pam.

Which character – as performed by Will Patton – was your favorite?

Hackberry Holland. Will Patton is able to convey Hacks tortured memories of the POW camp, his longing for his deceased wife and his stubborness in letting himself love again.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I think almost everyone will be able to relate to the characters in this book on some level. There are a few laughs and a few places where one might want to cry. I wanted to tell Hack he was fortunate to have two women in his life who really loved him. But, he finally realizes this in the end.

Any additional comments?

YES! I hope Burke has a fourth book coming in this series. He left the main characters injured in Mexico. Also, Burke and Patton are a great combination.

I've never read or listened to a James Lee Burke book I didn't like, so I come in with that prejudice. This hero, like Dave Robicheaux, is battle-scarred,demon-chased and damaged but not dead yet, still alight with desire for love and justice.

As always with Burke, a solid story, excellent villains, descriptions of landscape and characters that rival any fine writer's out there, notes of redemption. Burke's language is, as always elegiac and my only gripe in listening to it vs. reading it is....come'on what bad guys speak with such poetic erudition? It works on the page, and it's part of Burke's flow but in narration it's just too gorgeous for the down and out. But I like hearing it enough that it's okay. Burke always provokes thought, he keeps us entertained.

The narrator is perfectly paired with the material, and the "Feast Day of Fools" metaphor (there's a bit of a lecture by one of the improbably bad guys about metaphors in the book) is wonderfully wrought.

James Lee Burke is a truly great artist. Yet, his work is a riddle to me, although I take great joy from each page of his books. Yes, I have enjoyed all of the books. What I like about each of them is -- first off -- the quality of his writing. His descriptions of a scene, or a person, or an act of violence are clear and flowing and simply make you wonder why nobody else has ever figured how to use the language in exactly the same way.

What causes me to wonder and question the man is simply where does he get the inspiration for those murderous, terribly violent and shockingly original characters about which he writes. Several of his heroes have been officers of the law. Although they are good cops, they are always deeply flawed. They seen to corner the market on violent acts. Once, one of Burke's characters dumped a whole pot of scalding hot gumbo on the head of a criminal suspect. In Feast Day, the lead character -- Hackberry Holland -- hits a bartender across the mouth with the fat end of a pool cue, just to see if he still had his old swing.

The plots of Burke's books are often so violent that you have to sit back and wonder if there are people in the world who can actually perform such acts. One of the villains in Feast Day has a Thompson .45 machine gun. He uses it frequently and with great joy to dismember his victims

The plot of Feast Day is -- as to be expected -- a bit strange. There's an oriental woman who worked for the CIA. She still feels deep guilt about calling down the wrath of modern day weapons on people who wanted nothing more than life on the land of their birth. There's a nasty Russian who plans to capture and sell to Al Qaida a man who can provide the blueprints for the Predator drone.

You get face to face with a lot of original characters. You almost grow used to the violence. But you never, never have a moment to shift your thoughts to anything outside of the pages of Feast Day of Fools.